Assistant to Bishop Evangelical Mission; Director for Evangelical Mission), Sierra Paci

Description

This posting will close July 29, 2026, at 11:00 pm central time.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.”, the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world.

The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

The Lutheran Center (national office) is located in Chicago, Illinois. A staff of approximately 400, under the leadership of the Presiding Bishop, serve as administrators, advisors, conveners, partners, and resource people for the ELCA and its ministries. Staff lead the work of national, domestic, and global ministries and programs including Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA World Hunger, Service & Justice, Christian Community and Leadership, and Innovation.

We are also home to five of our separately incorporated ministries:
The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, Women of the ELCA, Lutheran Men in Mission, the ELCA Foundation and the ELCA Federal Credit Union.

Grounded in our purpose and priorities, the Christian Community and Leadership unit (CCL) helps the ELCA reach and engage new people reflecting the diversity of communities, welcoming them into the Christian faith. To this end, we will energize and engage our core membership and work with the whole of the ELCA to recruit, develop and deploy the leadership, both lay and rostered, that the church needs to fulfill its purpose of spreading the gospel and building the church.

The Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) represents the ELCA through the Christian Community and Leadership Unit (CCL) in the Sierra Pacific Synod and is responsible for the development of tools to support congregational vitality, which we define as, “Communities of Jesus that nurture new life‑changing relationships with God, one another and the world,” which reflects the purposes, principles and commitments of the synod, CCL and the ELCA as a whole.

The DEM will collaborate and coordinate with congregational, synod, regional networks and Churchwide leaders to develop strategies designed to help congregations engage their communities so that more people know the way of Jesus and discover community, justice and love.

The person in this position is expected to fully participate in the life and ministry of the synod on the synod staff with synod initiatives and is responsible for implementing and building upon ELCA commitments to ministries among diverse cultures and communities including migrants and immigrants, people with disabilities, the young‑adult population including campus ministries, the LGBTQIA+ population, as well as people and communities experiencing poverty.

The DEM participates in resourcing the synod mission strategy with an emphasis on congregational vitality, evangelism, and leadership.

This position will be coterminous with the synod bishop and supervised primarily by the Bishop of the Synod in partnership with CCL staff. Other assignments of responsibility will be made by the Synod Bishop and Senior Director, DEM Relationships. The position will be based in the Sierra Pacific Synod and will serve as a living representation of the interdependent nature of the ELCA.

This position is a full‑time, in‑person, exempt, synod employee position, that is coterminous with the synod bishop and will end Spring 2030. The position has responsibilities that require them to live in the geographic territory of the synod within regular commuting distance from the synod office in Berkeley, California and to be in the synod office multiple times a week.

The eligibility of a candidate for remote or hybrid positions may depend on the residency of the candidate, and the budget for the role, including salary or pay, insurance coverage, and/or tax burden. Candidates for this position must reside within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia and be…